Safety Board Lists Its Priorities For Aviation Safety Improvements

The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that the government should be doing more to prevent accidents and enhance safety for the traveling public. The Board updated its list of Most Wanted Safety Improvements, noting instances where federal agencies had given unacceptable responses to NTSB recommendations or were moving too slowly to implement recommended safety measures.

Two items were removed from the list, one because action on it is almost completed, and the other because the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) refused to adopt the recommended safety enhancement.

Established in 1990, the Most Wanted list is a way for the NTSB to focus attention on needed safety improvements in all modes of transportation. The list highlights recommendations that the Board believes would significantly reduce deaths and injuries.

"Our recommendations are derived from the hard lessons we have learned over the years investigating many tragic accidents," said NTSB Chairman Ellen Engleman Conners. "Quite simply, implementing these measures will save lives."

In aviation, the Board reviewed the status of recommendations in six issue areas:

Runway Incursions

The Board's recommendation calls for a system that ensures safe movement of airplanes on the ground and provides warnings of probable collisions/incursions directly to flight crews in the cockpit. To illustrate the potential dangers of a runway incursion, the Board viewed a simulation, prepared by NTSB staff, of a near-collision at Los Angeles last August involving two large airliners, a B-747 and a B-737. This incident was not reported by air traffic control officials as an operational error. "The fact that such incidents are not being reported casts doubt on the FAA's claims that the runway incursion rate is declining," Chairman Engleman Conners said. "The FAA needs to review its reporting process." Status: The Board changed the classification of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) response to this recommendation from "Open-Acceptable Response" to "Open-Unacceptable Response."

Fuel/Air Vapors in Fuel Tanks

Recommendations call for interim measures to reduce flammable fuel/air vapors in fuel tanks and, longer term, airplane design changes to eliminate the generation of such vapors. Status: Due to the lack of FAA initiatives on interim measures, the Board decided to reclassify the short-term recommendation from "Open-Acceptable Response" to "Open-Unacceptable Response." On the longer-term recommendation, the Board found the FAA's response acceptable. The Board is anticipating that the FAA will begin the regulatory process to require a flammability reduction system in the near future. Overall, the Board noted that implementation was progressing too slowly.

Aircraft Icing

To reduce the dangers of flying in icing conditions, NTSB recommendations call for expedited research and upgraded airplane design and certification standards. Status: Noting that the oldest icing recommendations on the list date back eight years, the Board changed the classification of this issue from "Open-Acceptable Response," but progressing slowly, to "Open-Unacceptable Response" based on the FAA's lack of progress in this area.

Audio, Data and Video Recorders

Recommendations specify at least two hours of audio recording capability, back-up power sources, and a requirement for video recorders in the cockpit to give investigators more information to solve complex accidents. Status: The Board noted some progress by the FAA on a few recommendations in this issue area but retained the overall classification of "Open-Unacceptable Response."

Child Restraints

Recommendation asks for a requirement that infants and toddlers under age two be safely restrained on takeoff, landing and in turbulence. Status: Unacceptable response from FAA.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov